Chapter 1: Ayusha never believed that something could feel wrong before it actually happened.
It wasn't fear, and it wasn't imagination. It was something deeper—something quiet but sharp, like a whisper inside her mind that refused to be ignored.
That morning had started like any other. The sky was clear, the streets were busy, and everything around her looked completely normal. Students walked past her, laughing, talking, lost in their own routines. Even Ayusha tried to convince herself that today would be no different.
But that feeling stayed.
It followed her with every step she took, growing slightly stronger, like a warning she didn't understand.
"Why does it feel like this…" she murmured under her breath, her fingers tightening slightly around the strap of her bag.
She slowed down near the school gate, her eyes moving unconsciously across her surroundings. Nothing seemed unusual. No one looked worried. No one seemed aware of anything out of place.
Yet her heart didn't agree.
It beat faster.
Not because she was scared—
But because something inside her knew.
Ayusha shook her head lightly, trying to push the feeling away. "I'm just overthinking," she whispered.
But even as she said it, she didn't believe it.
She stepped into the school, blending into the crowd, trying to focus on the normal rhythm of her day. Classes started, teachers explained lessons, and everything moved forward as it always did.
But Ayusha couldn't focus.
Her eyes drifted toward the window again and again, her thoughts slipping away from the classroom. That strange feeling hadn't left her. If anything, it had become more noticeable, like a quiet pressure building inside her chest.
"This doesn't make sense…" she thought.
She had felt nervous before. She had felt anxious before. But this was different.
This felt… certain.
As if something was already decided.
Her fingers tapped lightly against her desk as she tried to distract herself, but it didn't work. The feeling kept pulling her attention away, whispering that something was about to happen.
And then—
It did.
The moment came so suddenly that she didn't even realize it at first. The sound of the classroom faded, the voices around her disappearing into silence.
Ayusha blinked.
Everything stopped.
Completely.
The teacher stood frozen mid-sentence. A student's pen hung in the air, unmoving. Even the faint movement of curtains near the window had come to a halt.
Her breath caught in her throat.
"What…?"
Her voice echoed softly in the unnatural stillness.
Ayusha slowly stood up, her heart pounding as she looked around. Nothing moved. Nothing changed. It was as if time itself had stopped—but she hadn't.
"This isn't real…" she whispered.
But it felt real.
Too real.
She took a careful step forward, her shoes making a soft sound against the floor. The silence around her felt heavy, pressing against her ears.
"What is happening…?"
Her voice trembled slightly, but there was no answer.
Then—
Something shifted.
Not in the classroom.
But in her mind.
A sudden image flashed before her eyes.
A corridor.
Students walking.
Laughter.
And then—
A sharp sound.
A loud crash.
Ayusha gasped, her body tensing as the image became clearer. She saw a student near the staircase, leaning slightly over the railing, talking to someone. The railing looked loose—unstable.
And then—
It broke.
The image shattered.
Time returned.
The classroom came back to life, voices rushing back into her ears, movements continuing as if nothing had happened.
Ayusha stumbled slightly, grabbing her desk to steady herself. Her breathing was uneven, her heart racing uncontrollably.
"What… was that?" she whispered.
Her eyes widened as the realization hit her.
"That wasn't just… something random…"
It felt real.
Too real.
Like something she had actually seen.
Like something that was going to happen.
Her head turned sharply toward the classroom door.
"The corridor…" she murmured.
Her body moved before she could think. She rushed out of the classroom, ignoring the confused voices behind her.
Her steps echoed loudly as she ran through the hallway, her mind replaying the image again and again.
"The railing… the student…"
Her heartbeat grew faster.
"I have to stop it."
She reached the corridor near the staircase, her eyes searching desperately. Students were there, just like in the vision. Talking. Laughing. Unaware.
And then—
She saw them.
A student leaning against the railing.
In the exact same position.
Ayusha's breath stopped.
"It's happening…"
Her chest tightened as panic tried to take over. But this time—
She didn't freeze.
"Hey!" she shouted suddenly.
Her voice cut through the noise, sharp and urgent.
"Move away from there!"
The student looked at her, confused.
"What?"
"Just move!" Ayusha insisted, her voice stronger now.
There was hesitation.
But something in her tone—
Something in her eyes—
Made them listen.
The student stepped back.
And in the next second—
The railing cracked.
Breaking apart with a loud sound.
Gasps filled the corridor.
Students stepped back in shock.
But no one fell.
No one got hurt.
Ayusha stood there, her body frozen, her breath unsteady.
"I… saw that…" she whispered.
Her mind struggled to process what had just happened.
"That was the same…"
The same moment.
The same event.
The same outcome—
Except she had changed it.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she looked at the broken railing.
"I stopped it…"
The realization sent a strange feeling through her chest.
Not fear.
Not relief.
Something else.
Something deeper.
Because now—
She understood one thing.
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't coincidence.
And this wasn't something she could ignore.
Ayusha slowly stepped back, her eyes still fixed on the scene.
"If I saw that before it happened…" she whispered.
Her voice quiet, but filled with disbelief.
"Then what does that mean?"
The answer didn't come.
But the question stayed.
And somewhere, deep inside her—
That strange feeling returned again.
Not weaker.
Not fading.
But stronger.
As if this was only the beginning.